ONEONTA, NY – After defeating SUNYAC opponent SUNY Oneonta 6-4 on April 22, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team was looking for their sixth and seventh straight victories in a doubleheader against the same Red Dragons squad on Saturday. 
 
However, Michael Losak's pitching in game one and an eighth inning flurry in game number two prevented the Hawks from completing the four-game sweep as the home side took both games 3-2 and 13-12. With the losses, SUNY New Paltz's record fell to 12-15, while Oneonta improved to 10-21. 
 
In game one, the Red Dragons were able to hold off the visitors in seven innings due to an impressive outing from Losak, while Anthony Foglia's three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in game two catapulted the home team to a big victory. 
 
Losak, one of Oneonta's captains, retired the first six Hawk batters as the Red Dragon offense got to Bobby Ramsey in the first contest. Foglia's solo home run in the bottom of the first got his team ahead 1-0, and the home side homered again in the bottom of the second when Patrick McGee hit his second home run of the season, this one of the two-run variety, over the left field fence to put Oneonta up 3-0. 
 
"Losak was good," said SUNY New Paltz pitching coach Brandon Rivera. "His secondary pitches had our guys off balance, but we were able to make some in-game adjustments and score some runs." 
 
Those runs came in the fifth inning, when they cut the home lead to 3-1, an inning started by Leo Alvarez's single into right field. Losak rebounded by striking out Dean Stalzer, but Jordan Rios reached on an error by Andrew Bonilla. Justin Harvey then grounded out, bringing Alvarez home. 
 
The Hawks again put a run on the board in the sixth, trimming the home lead to one when Ortiz scored on a passed ball after leading the inning off with a single. The visitors had one final opportunity to tie or take the lead in the top of the seventh, but Logan Carriero retired Rios, Justin Harvey, and Kreider in order. 
 
Losak picked up the win by going six innings, giving up five hits with two runs and four strikeouts, while Carriero picked up the save. For SUNY New Paltz, Ramsey took the loss despite giving up just three hits in six innings. 
 
"Ramsey gave us a quality start, he just left pitches up in the zone to their quality hitters and they were able to put a piece on it and capitalize," said Rivera. "We were just not very strong defensively in game one. They just played better defensively than us and it ended up bringing them the win." 
 
It was the visitors who got the scoring started first in the top of the first of game two against Oneonta's Kyle Roper. 
 
Patane doubled into left field, putting runners at the corners with one out after Mackle reached base on a passed ball. Boccarossa, next up, brought in Mackle with a single into center field, putting the visitors up 1-0. 
 
The Red Dragons responded in the next inning against James Trink, tying the game on an RBI single from Anthony Gonzalez. However, Dean Stalzer's leadoff solo home run to left center field in the top of the second, his third in the last two games, put the Hawks back on top, 2-1. Roper was pulled after the inning, having given up six hits and five runs, one of which was earned. 
 
SUNY New Paltz widened the gap with a three-run third inning, scoring three runs on Matthew Russo. Rios hit a two-RBI single to make the score 4-1, and Stalzer scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to four.
 
Oneonta put together one of their best hitting displays of the weekend in the fifth, scoring five runs to take a 6-5 lead, the first two of which came when Guillen and McGee scored on errors. The home side got within one when Noah Frasca hit an RBI triple into left field, forcing Rivera to go to the bullpen and bring in Matthew Polestino. The left hander gave up an RBI single to Liam Kaseta and a single to Foglia before striking out Sean Liquori, but Gonzalez hit a RBI single sharply through the left side to give his team the lead. 
 
Trailing 6-5, the Hawks got their bats going in a major way, enjoying their most prolific inning of the weekend in the top of the fifth to the tune of five runs. 
 
Patane started off with a single into left field, and Stalzer once again came through in the clutch, singling to third to load the bases for Rios after Boccarossa reached on a fielder's choice. Rios gave SUNY New Paltz a 7-6 lead when he hit an RBI single into center field, setting the stage for a huge moment for Dillon Ristano. 
 
The catcher, not known as a home-run hitter with none on the season, registered his first long ball that could not have come at a bigger time. 
 
He took the first pitch that he saw from Russo and belted it high to left field, a ball that just stayed fair and sent the Hawk bench into a frenzy as the team used a huge rally to take a comfortable, 10-6 lead through five innings of play.  
 
After Polestino retired three of the four batters he faced in the sixth, he ran into trouble in the very next inning when he allowed a leadoff single to Kaseta and a double to Foglia. He then walked Gonzalez and was replaced by McGovern. Guillen, next up, who was 2-for-4 on the day, singled through the left side, his only RBI of the game, getting Oneonta within two at 10-8. 
 
Additional runs were added by SUNY New Paltz in the seventh inning when Stalzer was hit by a pinch, stole second base, and was driven in by a Ristano single. Boccarossa hit a single through the right side, driving Ortiz in and giving the Hawks a four-run lead, 12-8. 
 
However, just like they had in the fifth inning, the Red Dragons responded with a huge offensive explosion. 
 
McGee singled to left field with one out, and Frasca singled with two out. Kaseta hit a two-RBI single through the left side with the bases loaded following a Bradley Turner walk, cutting the deficit in half. Then Foglia stepped to the plate and hit a massive three-run home run over the right field fence, putting Oneonta ahead in the blink of an eye. Carriero, who picked up the save in game one, put away Stalzer, Rios, and Ristano to end the contest. 
 
"McGovern came in to clean up after Polestino and was effective in mixing in his offspeed pitches early," said Rivera about the sophomore reliever. "However, in the eighth inning Oneonta was able to put some hits together with two outs and take the ball game." 
 
Foglia had his best game of the season in the contest, going 5-for-6 with two doubles and a triple to go along with the home run. Kaseta was also big, going 4-for-6 with three RBI. 
 
"Our pitchers weren't able to get the first out of the innings after we executed offensively, and giving away free bases with eight walks on the day hurt us," said Rivera.
 
For SUNY New Paltz, Rios and Ristano were both 2-for-5 with four RBI, while Patane was 3-for-5 with two doubles. 
 
The Hawks will look to rebound and get back on track when they face Plattsburgh State at home in a three-game series Monday and Tuesday. Monday's game times are 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., while Tuesday is a 12 p.m. contest. 
 
"Our bullpen just needs to be better and have shutdown innings," continued Rivera about what needs to change moving forward. "We will work on this and execute in our upcoming series against Plattsburgh."
 
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